


prepare the preparations

by scarebeast



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-20 09:16:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9484610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarebeast/pseuds/scarebeast
Summary: The boys spend the night in the car after a snowstorm. Prompto and Gladio spend the night in a jacket together.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [machinesway](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machinesway/gifts).



> late gift for leon's birthday. it didn't want to end. just take it please. the characterization feels weird to me but i've been working on this for so long i'm dying
> 
> also i've seen some stuff like "why do you have to make the characters trans i don't even know where you got this from"
> 
> and the answer is i do what i want so fuck you

Gladio has this giant coat that he only pulls out when the temperature dips belows 30 and there's snow on the ground. Insomnia was by the sea, by the mountains, and the weather was cold enough that he used it often, but out in Duscae and Cleigne, it's warm enough that he never really has to pull it out.

Good thing too, because he's probably the only one that actually brought any kind of winter clothes. He had just had this feeling, before they left, that he should pack it into the car just in case. Just a nagging little voice in the back of his mind that was telling him that he might need it. Gladio always operates with a "you never know" as a mantra in his mind, and so he's prepared for mostly everything.

A good thing too, when it starts to snow and the road conditions get so bad they have to pull over for the night. They've never encountered a snowstorm as bad as this one, and if they had one, they were always inside waiting it out. None of them know how to handle it, and they spend at least an hour sitting inside the car with the heat on until Ignis sighs and shuts the engine off.

"We can't just sit here with the heat running all night. We won't have enough fuel to make it to an outpost if we do that."

"We can't leave the car," Gladio tells him, peering out the window. "It's coming down too hard out there for us to even find a haven, let alone stand out there and put camping equipment up."

"We'll have to stay in here and try to keep warm then." Ignis bites his lip. "The blankets are in the trunk."

"Does that mean we're all gonna have to huddle for warmth? I call dibs on Gladio. Human heater," Prompto nods like he's actually going to get dibs. Gladio isn't exactly opposed, but he swats the back of Prompto's head anyway before opening his door to climb out.

"I'll get the blankets, you guys stay right here." Gladio doesn't exactly think the idea through, and when he steps out into the freezing, wet storm, he almost wishes he liked to wear more than just tank tops under his jackets. He's pretty sure they haven't been sitting out here that long, but the back of the car is covered with so much snow that he spends at least ten minutes clearing it off and trying not to freeze himself to death.

The blankets are buried underneath all of the camping equipment, and his jacket is even farther back than that, so he spends a minute trying to dig it out, getting it caught on things, and tearing one of the blankets in an effort to get that out with it. It's a nightmare until he finally can get it out and pull his arms through the sleeves.

When he climbs back into the car, he's shivering, and Noctis and Prompto have traded spots, though it looks like Noctis isn't happy about it.

"Cheer up, Noct. Prompto did call dibs." Gladio shoves a couple of blankets up into the front seat and Noctis wastes no time in wrapping one around himself. The other goes over Ignis's lap, and the man pushes his seat back just enough to leave Prompto a little leg room. 

"Are you shivering?" Prompto asks, staring over at him with a wide eyed expression. It's the face he makes when he's really tired and doesn't want to acknowledge it or let anyone know, and it's a face he makes enough into the sideview mirror that Gladio knows it well now. Not that he spends a whole lot of time looking at Prompto in the sideview mirror.

"It's a little freezing out there, Prom." He hands Prompto a blanket and zips his jacket all the way up before shoving his hands into his pockets.

They all go quiet for a few minutes before Ignis lets out a long sigh.

"Shall we sleep, then? We could be here for a while." He doesn't look at all happy about it. Gladio's not happy about it either. He doubts that any of them are happy about it, but this is the situation they're stuck in and he's not going to let attitudes drop so low that they start fighting, because that's what always happens.

"Yeah. Everybody close your eyes and get some rest and we'll see what it's like in the morning."

Noctis seems to have no issue dropping off, not that Gladio is surprised at all about that. Ignis takes a little longer, but he finally drops his head back against the head rest, glasses dangling off of one ear. Gladio carefully removes them and sets them in the center console. Ignis doesn't usually make a habit of falling asleep with his glasses on but Gladio guesses it's been kind of a weird day.

Prompto seems to be having the hardest time. His head keeps falling back against the headrest and he keeps jerking forward, like he's dozing off and waking himself back up for whatever reason. Gladio hates it when anyone does that, especially Noctis, but it seems worse somehow that it's Prompto doing it. Gladio wonders if Prompto has more nightmares than he really talks about. It would make sense. Sometimes it seems like Prompto doesn't sleep at all.

"Hey." Gladio is starting to get sleepy himself and he's praying pretty hard that the snow will put the daemons off for the rest of the night, but he can't just let Prompto do this weird not sleeping thing all night.

"Wha?" Prompto jerks forward again, turning to give Gladio a very bleary look. "Something happening?"

Gladio rolls his eyes. "No. Except you aren't sleeping. What's got you up?"

Prompto looks pretty uncomfortable at being caught out. Gladio's pretty sure he deserves it but he's not that mean so he's not going to say anything, even though he really wants to. He really wants to for reasons that aren't strictly just him looking out for everyone in their little squad. "Come on. We've talked about this before. You know I won't say anything to Noct or Iggy if you don't want me to."

Prompto looks like he's going to reply, even opens his mouth, but he stops and sighs.

"Out with it, Prom." Gladio doesn't get frustrated. He flies by frustrated to strictly pissed off and he doesn't like to do that with Prompto. The kid tries so hard and Gladio can't fault him for feeling the way he does.

"Okay, listen, this is gonna sound really stupid but I can't sleep with my binder on and I can't exactly take it off right here, you know? I mean, Noct and Ignis are asleep, but you're still awake and." Prompto shrugs, folding his arms over his chest. "It's kind of an Event."

Gladio hates that he can hear the capital letter on that. "Okay, well. I won't look." He turns towards the window and can see himself in the glass. He can't see Prompto though.

"No, well. It's not just that. I mean, I kinda. Want you to look," he says quickly and Gladio turns back to stare at Prompto's flushed face. "I mean!"

Gladio holds a hand up and Prompto closes his mouth. "Okay. So you like me then, right?"

"I didn't say that!" Prompto squeaks. "You can appreciate someone's great physique without liking them. You're like a meat wall, Gladio. But, um... yeah."

"Is that why you stare at me in the mirror?" Gladio grins, nudging Prompto a little. "Yeah, I see you when you do it. You aren't subtle."

Prompto covers his face with his hands. "Oh my god, can you stop?"

"Nah. Now come on, do you want help or not?"

"No! No, I don't need help, thanks much, I can get it myself."

Gladio arches an eyebrow and unzips his jacket, pulling it off and pushing it over to Prompto. "Probably big enough that you can get in there and get it off without anybody having to see you." He knows what Prompto said, but he also knows that Prompto hates anyone seeing him without his binder. He also knows that Prompto would rather just not talk about it at all but they've been too close these past few months for it to not be brought up in terms of, well hygiene and self care.

Prompto takes the coat unhappily and pulls it around himself, zipping it all the way up. He's absolutely swimming in it but something about the way it looks on him makes Gladio incredibly warm. Prompto's head disappears into the coat and there's a lot of movement for a minute. Gladio looks back out the window to watch the snow swirl down around them, until Prompto emerges again, huffing. 

"Okay." Prompto goes to unzip the jacket and frowns for a minute.

"It's okay. Keep it on." Gladio waves a hand at him and settles back in to sleep.

"But it's your jacket-" Prompto starts and Gladio doesn't even want to argue with him, doesn't have the energy.

"You're in a sleeveless shirt too. Besides, like you said I'm a walking heater. Keep the jacket, Prompto."

Prompto frowns and Gladio is ready for him to argue, ready to shut it down immediately. "Okay, why don't we just share it then?"

Gladio considers it. The jacket's big enough to fit them both, for sure if Prompto squeezes in tight next to him. He's not opposed to the idea. There's no reason that this is a bad idea but something is still telling him that it's crossing some kind of line. Too close is too close.

"Yeah, okay. That'll work."

Prompto nods and squeezes in close, tugging one of his arms out of the jacket so Gladio can slide his own arm through the sleeve. The movement snaps Prompto against his side and he struggles a bit to zip up the jacket, but finally gets there. Prompto's warm and soft against him and Gladio knows he's never ever going to be able to let something like this go. He's not going to be able to let Prompto go, so he had better have meant it when he said he likes him.

"This is nice," Prompto says quietly without any trace of sarcasm or humor or really anything in his voice. "You're... nice."

"Sometimes I can be," he agrees, sliding his arm around Prompto's shoulder so it's not wedged between them like a metaphorical wall. Prompto won't look at him, but Gladio is watching his eyes.

"Knew you had a good side."

"You're pretty much always on my good side."

Prompto's face flushes almost immediately and Gladio wonders why he didn't just flirt before, especially if it was going to be so easy do this to Prompto. He looks even younger, if that's possible, and beautiful. Gladio's a little bit of a hopeless romantic sometimes, when he wants to be. He can afford to be a little bit of an embarrassing sap. It's the end of the world, what better time to be a little loose with his affections?

"Shut up," Prompto grumbles, turning away from him. It doesn't work well, only succeeds if Prompto's aim was to have his hair go directly up Gladio's nose.

"Yeah, yeah, you're embarrassed easily, I know."

"You're such an asshole sometimes."

"I can be." Gladio grins and presses his face into Prompto's hair, closing his eyes. Prompto goes absolutely rigid for a minute before relaxing and letting out a long sigh. Gladio can see his breath.

"I didn't know it could get this cold out here." Prompto blows out another breath and turns to look at Gladio. "We're right by the ocean, too. It was warm a few days ago. Snow sucks."

Gladio agrees privately. "What, you can't handle the temperature dropping a few degrees?"

"Nope." Prompto pops the 'p.'

"You big baby."

"Whatever, you're the one who cries at _Insomia General_ every time you watch it--"

Gladio claps his hand over Prompto's mouth. "I thought we agreed you weren't gonna talk about that anymore and I wasn't gonna say anything about that time you looked at that dog and started crying--"

Prompto licks Gladio's hand and immediately groans. "What have you been touching, holy shit?"

"The car," Gladio replies, rolling his eyes and removing his hand from Prompto's mouth. "Oh, and you know, my sword, the remains of several flan, a sabertusk claw, a pile of catoblepas shit."

Prompto makes a face. "You don't wash your hands?"

"Of course I wash my hands. Tell me when the last time you saw soap in the trunk was though, Prom."

"Okay, I guess that's true. We need to make a stop somewhere and get some hand sanitizer or something, god, that's so gross." Prompto goes to wipe his tongue on his own hand or something and stops abruptly. "That means my hands aren't much better though. God, I gotta live with this taste in my mouth now!"

"I could do something to fix that," Gladio hums.

"Unless you have a toothbrush or something, I don't see how you could really--"

Gladio cuts Prompto off with his mouth. They're wrapped too tightly in the coat for Prompto to flail but Gladio knows he wants to, can feel the way his arms kind of lock up and lift to no avail. 

Prompto is just kind of limp against him for a minute until he gets his head around the idea or something, Gladio doesn't know, but Prompto surges against him after a long moment of their mouths touching, and then they're kissing properly. Well, for the most part. Gladio doesn't know if Prompto has ever been kissed before, but he's doing alright.

After a long few minutes, they break apart, and Gladio can't stop staring at the way Prompto's lips look now, red and swollen and shiny with spit.

"Oh. What-" Prompto clears his throat once, twice, again. "What was that?"

Gladio squeezes Prompto against him briefly. "That was me telling you I like you too, dumbass. For a long time."

Prompto looks a little dazed, so Gladio just rolls his eyes and tips his head back against the headrest. "Go to sleep, we can talk about this in the morning."

"Now, hang on, you can't kiss and tell like that! And not kiss again!" Prompto's fingers slide against his throat and chin and Gladio drops his head back down to kiss the tips of them. When he looks back up into Prompto's eyes, the man is staring at him with some sort of feeling that Gladio can't really pinpoint. Usually, Prompto is easy to read, but Gladio can't tell if this is want or heartbreak or maybe both.

"Go to sleep, Prompto. Iggy and Noct will kill us if we stay up all night kissing."

Prompto's face falls and Gladio feels a bit like he's kicked a puppy. "Can we spend a different night kissing?"

Gladio sighs. "Listen, soon as we get to Lestallum, I, uh. I want to take you out somewhere." He can feel _his_ face going red now, and remembers why he hasn't flirted seriously with someone in years. Embarrassing. "Like on a date. I want to take you on a date."

" _Finally_ ," the front seat groans and Gladio pushes his foot against the back of the chair until Noctis slams himself back against it in frustration. "Hey!"

Ignis opens his eyes with a long sigh and Gladio wonders just how long they've both been awake.

"Hey! Private moment here, go back to sleep!" Prompto tries to fold his arms over his chest and just succeeds in elbowing Gladio in the ribs.

"Ow! Watch where you put your arms!" Maybe sharing the jacket hadn't been the best idea but Gladio is committed now.

"Everyone go to sleep," Ignis says loudly and his tone is so sharp that it goes completely silent. Until Noctis starts to snort. Gladio kicks the back of his seat and he yelps, and the car quiets down again.

"So, a date," Gladio says quietly into the coat. "Date me."

"Yeah, I mean. _I guess_."

"You're a little shit. Why do I even like you?"

"Good question, let me know when you figure that out, buddy." Prompto has the biggest grin on his face and Gladio wants to kiss it right off of him.

"Well, you'll be the first to know. I _guess_."


End file.
